8th Safest Town In The Nation

Middletown Township is the safest city in New Jersey, according to the National Council for Home Safety and Security’s annual Top 100 Safest Cities in Americareport.

NCHSS is a national trade association of home security professionals. They’ve been ranking the safety of America’s communities since 2006 using data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report statistics and their own internal research. Their most recent study includes 764 cities with populations over 50,000 who submitted complete crime reports to the FBI. The number of violent crimes and property crimes per 100,000 people determine the cities’ ranking.

Justin Rafalko, 25, of Sycamore Drive in Hazlet was charged with robbing the TD Bank branch on Harmony Road in Middletown, according to a statement by Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Rafaldo entered the bank at around 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, approached a teller with a note that indicated he was armed and demanding money. He fled the scene on a bicycle.

The Keansburg police apprehended Rafalko later on Saturday along the Henry Hudson Trail. He was identified via surveillance video.

The investigation was a cooperative effort of the Monmouth County Prosectuor’s Office, the Middletown Police Department, the Hazlet Police Department and the FBI.

“This was a great team effort by all the law enforcement agencies involved to bring this case to a swift conclusion,” said Prosecutor Gramiccioni.